MicroTravel
Improving the traveling experience for hostel-goers throughout the world
"What are three words you would use to describe a hostel?"
Project Summary
The title of this project is Micro Travel, and its purpose is centered on improving the hostel experience for travelers through assessing their needs and desires. Micro Travel is working to create an app that enhances the emotional experience for hostel lodgers by collecting the experiences and itineraries of past travelers and compiling them into unique travel plans, opening new “paths” for youths staying in hostels.
We aim to improve the hostel experience for travelers in China and throughout the rest of the world by creating a more personal, unique travel itinerary that allows individuals to engage with their specific interests and the culture of the place in which they are traveling. We plan to explore, expose, and expand the role of youth hostels in the modern urban landscape.
We seek to address the disparity between the role hostels play in the travels of hostel lodgers and the role the traveler’s desire the hostel to take. We want to improve the user experience of hostel goers as a whole, taking into account the personal desires of these individuals, obtaining these preferences through surveys and fieldwork.
This project seeks to improve the hostel experience for individuals traveling throughout the world by addressing their own personal needs. This is important in allowing people to see the culture that is present in cities that you normally would not see from a “normal” tourist experience. We are seeking to address the divergence between what travelers want--an authentic cultural immersive experience--and what hostels are currently providing.
Our group will be building on the work already done by our Tsinghua University partners. We will conduct our own surveys and fieldwork, providing us with a plethora of research from different regions in the world outside of China. This will, hopefully, provide a wider breadth of knowledge as to what hostel lodgers need as a whole.
The title of this project is Micro Travel, and its purpose is centered on improving the hostel experience for travelers through assessing their needs and desires. Micro Travel is working to create an app that enhances the emotional experience for hostel lodgers by collecting the experiences and itineraries of past travelers and compiling them into unique travel plans, opening new “paths” for youths staying in hostels.
We aim to improve the hostel experience for travelers in China and throughout the rest of the world by creating a more personal, unique travel itinerary that allows individuals to engage with their specific interests and the culture of the place in which they are traveling. We plan to explore, expose, and expand the role of youth hostels in the modern urban landscape.
We seek to address the disparity between the role hostels play in the travels of hostel lodgers and the role the traveler’s desire the hostel to take. We want to improve the user experience of hostel goers as a whole, taking into account the personal desires of these individuals, obtaining these preferences through surveys and fieldwork.
This project seeks to improve the hostel experience for individuals traveling throughout the world by addressing their own personal needs. This is important in allowing people to see the culture that is present in cities that you normally would not see from a “normal” tourist experience. We are seeking to address the divergence between what travelers want--an authentic cultural immersive experience--and what hostels are currently providing.
Our group will be building on the work already done by our Tsinghua University partners. We will conduct our own surveys and fieldwork, providing us with a plethora of research from different regions in the world outside of China. This will, hopefully, provide a wider breadth of knowledge as to what hostel lodgers need as a whole.
Survey
Take our survey in order to add to the continually growing body of research surrounding individuals and their experiences staying in hostels.
Our objectives are:
1. Give personal accounts of hostel experience
2. Evaluate the wants and needs of hostel users
3. Map out people’s perceptions of hostels and their experiences
Use the link below!
https://docs.google.com/a/stanford.edu/forms/d/1WiCBev8Dca6T0s3xS7pHf27Wo9rhWesTWQ1pMRlUQRc/viewform
Take our survey in order to add to the continually growing body of research surrounding individuals and their experiences staying in hostels.
Our objectives are:
1. Give personal accounts of hostel experience
2. Evaluate the wants and needs of hostel users
3. Map out people’s perceptions of hostels and their experiences
Use the link below!
https://docs.google.com/a/stanford.edu/forms/d/1WiCBev8Dca6T0s3xS7pHf27Wo9rhWesTWQ1pMRlUQRc/viewform
Survey Results (Thus Far)
(Online survey question) "In which countries have you stayed in a hostel?"
General Survey Info:
- Total Responses: 106
- Female (70) 66% / Male (36) 34%
- 18-25 years old (96%)
- A huge majority of the respondents (74%) traveled with friends when they stayed in hostels.
- More than half of the respondents (63%) have stayed in hostels more than 3 times.
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Personal Insights from the online survey respondents:
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I think hostels are really interesting communities, and the uncertainty of staying in them makes traveling all the more exciting. I definitely think that safety is a concern, but that many hostels are safe enough. I've definitely met some fascinating folks through hostels, but I also really appreciate that I can choose to be as involved or invisible as I want (not having community programming). |
Micro Travel as Defined by our Tsinghua University Partners Sean Su and Coco Yunzi
Fieldwork
We traveled to three different hostels in San Francisco, talking to both hostel workers and managers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the services that hostels in the Bay Area provide.
Hostel International San Francisco Downtown
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USA Hostels |
Green Tortoise Hostel San Francisco
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In addition to the fieldwork we have done in San Francisco, we have interviewed some of our peers about their experiences traveling to different hostels throughout the world. Check out the video below to hear their stories!
PathBook Blog
Our vision for the PathBook is to create an online, interactive platform for hostel-using travelers to share their experiences with future hostel-goers. Through publishing their specific itineraries, past travelers will enable future travelers to venture to the particular sites and destinations in the city that they are most interested in, whether it be hiking, live music venues, coffee shops, biking routes, etc... This will provide travelers with a more exciting, unique, and personal traveling experience.
Link: thepathbook.tumblr.com
Our vision for the PathBook is to create an online, interactive platform for hostel-using travelers to share their experiences with future hostel-goers. Through publishing their specific itineraries, past travelers will enable future travelers to venture to the particular sites and destinations in the city that they are most interested in, whether it be hiking, live music venues, coffee shops, biking routes, etc... This will provide travelers with a more exciting, unique, and personal traveling experience.
Link: thepathbook.tumblr.com
Meet the Team
Name: Alec Hogan School: Stanford University Program/Major: International Relations Hometown: Orange County, California, U.S.A. |
Name: Adriana Baird School: Stanford University Program/Major: International Relations major, Urban Studies minor Hometown: Orange County, California, U.S.A. |
Name: Valerie Gamao School: Stanford University Program/Major: Earth Systems- Anthrosphere track Hometown: Live Oak, Texas, U.S.A. |
Name: Coco Yunzi
School: Tsinghua University Program/Major: Information Art and Design Hometown: Nanjing, China |
Name: Sean Su
School: Tsinghua University Program/Major: Information Art and Design Hometown: Henan Province, China |